About Us

Who we are

The idea for the Dachoyama Aikido Dojo came up in the beginning of 2016. Ishlar Smolny had been teaching kids groups in Aikido for years already all over Berlin. Her own group in Möglin became more and more successful. But at the same time, she felt that since she had moved out of Berlin, it was difficult to practice as much as she would have liked. Once a week she practices in the Kokoro Aikido Dojo in Berlin with Karl Ruben. But she felt she wanted to do more.

As fate would have it, Paul Müller, also a member of the Kokoro Aikido Dojo, had just started working as a teacher in Strausberg. Just about to grade for his black belt, he was also eager to get more involved with Aikido. With both of them being experienced in Aikido and willing to do the work, something dawned…

At that point, Ishlar sat down with Karl to start a concept. And things really went quickly from that point onwards. With his experience in starting a group, her energy to get people excited and Paul aboard to support the project, within only a few months everything was set up.

The name Dachoyama Aikido is a literal translation of our location. The city is called Strausberg, which means ostrich-mountain. Ostrich in Japanese is dachō (駝鳥), mountain is yama (山). Thus the name of our group: dachoyama.

We’re happy to have had such a great support from all sides so far and love to give back all the good energy to everyone interested. If that is you, come on over and get your dosage, too. We’re waiting for you.

What we believe in

Exchange in training. It’s not about who is quicker or better. Only together can we grow.

Equal opportunities for all. Whether woman or man, young or old, left- or right-handed: It doesn’t matter who you are, but who you strive to become.

Constant growth. Here, the way is the goal. A break at the roadside is ok, but we want to move forward.

Trust. It’s difficult to learn when afraid. That’s why we support each other. We get to know and respect our own boundaries and those of others. And then we shift them together.